HP and the Return of the Clones
by Skippy Agogo
Summary: Lily and the Marauders travel to the future, and they aren't going back. Post DH, Canon ships and doesn't use timeturners. Who, if anyone, will end up killing Peter?
1. Chapter 1

It's all owned by JKR. Should she choose to re-write this crap and publish it I'd be thrilled beyond words as it's hers in spirito if not de facto. Oh, I should probably mention that this story will have spoilers for all books and interviews given by JKR after the last book. Note that this story is not a freakin romance. Any errors are mine alone, if you spot them please tell me as I have no beta. Beta desperately wanted to help expand the idea and limit the many errors I'm bound to make with this.

This plot bunny wouldn't let go, maybe if I write it someone far more skilled than I can take it off properly. This plot device may not be used to bring back any version of Severus Snape.

The Eye of Zeus

Dinner at the Potter house was a strangely quiet affair that September, Lily Luna had wasted no time in barricading herself in her room after their return. Ginny Potter reminded her husband of nearly twenty years how she had herself done the same when the last of her brother's had gone to Hogwarts for the first time. After dinner, Harry waited in the living room of their home as the full moon was reflected off the bay for a promised patronus message from Neville telling him and Ginny about their middle child's sorting, although Harry was quite sure Albus would not wind up in Slytherin neither was he sure that Gryffindor would be the house chosen for Al; perhaps Ravenclaw. He was quite sure that in spite of Ron's threat of disinheritance his niece would be in that house.

At the same time that Harry was looking north out of his living room, Neville was standing at the southern boundary of the Potter home's wards, he was a bit worried about the message he had to deliver to Harry and Ginny that evening. It wasn't that he had bad news really, but on the other hand the events of that evening's sorting were rather bizarre even for the wizarding world. There was no doubt in his mind that Harry would be proud of his son and niece being sorted into Ravenclaw, the fact that the Malfoy's son had also been sorted there shouldn't worry him very much.

No, the thing that worried Neville was how Harry would react to the news that during the first war against Voldemort his teenaged parents and three friends had cheated death the first time that they defied the Dark Lord. It might not have been as spectacular a defiance as what Harry had accomplished many times by their age, but they did prevent Voldemort from stealing the Eye of Zeus. Indeed the tale as told by Dumbledore's portrait was rather tame considering the effect it had on the sorting ceremony forty years later. Then again, five people appearing at the back of the Great Hall, naked as jaybirds, and collapsing unconscious was not something that happened every year. Neville knew that the young Remus Lupin had been a werewolf, and to see him under a full moon in a room crowded with the children of Hogwarts between the professors and the young werewolf was something that frightened him far more than the time he had attempted to duel Voldemort. It was with some obvious reluctance that Neville crossed the wards and prepared to talk with the Potters.

The wards on the Potter home were a well maintained relic of the aftereffects of the second Voldemort war. Those who were welcomed by the owners of the home were able to cross freely, crossing the threshold of the wards also alerted those inside that they had a visitor. Members of the media, known as paparatzi in the muggle world, did not dare cross the threshold unless by specific invitation. Needless to say that didn't stop the more intrepid photographers and reporters from camping out for weeks at a time when noteworthy events overtook the Potters. The first (unauthorized) photo of James Sirius Potter enabled one photographer to buy his first house, and sparked a minor scandal as his new house became the testing ground for one of George Weasley's newest products; wailing-baby-in-the-closet. Harry had to resist the urge to plant one of them in his Aunt's home.

After being welcomed by Ginny and offered tea, Neville spent the first five minutes assuring the couple that their children were fine. It was when he began to ask Harry if he remembered how his parents first defied Voldemort that Harry reacted.

'Yes, they destroyed an ancient artifact that had been stored at Hogwarts for a while. Wasn't it supposed to clone people and send their copy to a point in time after their original had died? You're not going to tell me that it actually worked, are you?'

'Exactly, it was said to have been used by ancient Greek wizards to extend their lives. Supposedly first discovered by a wizard named Cronus about four thousand years ago, the stories gave rise to the mythical gods the ancients worshipped. It was used by one wizard or witch at a time and it did give them a form of immortality, not real immortality, but to the muggles they did seem to live a very long time. But the last time magic was used on it your parents, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew cast a reductio on it and it was destroyed. Dumbledore did wonder if they might have a magical clone waiting to show up after they had died, but after two years he decided that it wasn't going to happen.'

'My parents are alive?' Asked Harry incredulously, interrupting Neville's explanation of the Eye of Zeus.

'No, not at all, your parents and their friends are still dead, they're neither inferi, nor resurrected. They're not your parents, they didn't give birth to you, didn't change your diapers, didn't deal with your first feedings and teeth. They're the clones of the people who became your parents.' Neville stressed. 'They're teenagers, 15-16 years old and in their sixth year. Right now they're unconscious and have no idea of what's happened to them. They're going to wake up tomorrow thinking that it's the first of November '76, it'll be quite the shock for them to learn it's September 2, 2017. This really shouldn't have been able to happen, they destroyed the Eye of Zeus. It shouldn't have been able to clone all of them at once and send them into the future. For centuries it's been known that the Eye was able to work with cloning people and sending those clones to a point of time at most a year after the person had died. The Eye is still gone, but it's last act has been to send five people to a point forty years into their future.'

Harry sat back looked up at the ceiling and wondered how his family was going to deal with this development, if it really was true that they were not his parents, as he began to think of asking about Pettigrew, Ginny asked the question he should have first thought of.

'Lupin's a werewolf, how can the kids be alright if a transformed werewolf appeared in the Great Hall?'

'Not one anymore' Neville replied, 'not one of them have any scars, bites, or a scratch on them. According to Dumbledore's portrait they did get hit with a few nasty hexes as they ran from Voldemort but the kids in the hospital wing are just unconscious, not injured at all. Nurse Perks says they should wake up sometime tomorrow morning, she'd like you to be there when they wake up Harry.'

'What do you think, Ginny? How on earth are we going to deal with this?'

'One step at a time, Harry, just like it's always been. You go meet them, tell them what's happened, probably you'll want to give them calming draughts before you tell them how they died. I'll send Kritter along to get them the school supplies they'll need, you wouldn't believe the records Madam Malkin's keep. Of course you'll have to take them to get wands, I doubt Ollivander will sell Pettigrew a wand, it would be easier to go to Hogsmead for them; didn't Ollerton open a wand shop there last year? They'll stay at school until Christmas, which gives us time to decide on who they'll stay with. Neville, what about their other relatives? Andy, Teddy and dear Anti-Petunia? Were you volunteered to tell them what happened tonight?'

'Yes,' Neville laughed lightly, 'I've already contacted Minerva, she wants to meet with them tomorrow about their animagus forms and to make sure that what has happened hasn't altered what their form is. I'll be off to talk to Mrs Tonks after I leave here, Pettigrew has no living relatives. I highly doubt they'd want to deal with the boy given the legacy of the original if he did have any. Should I go to Malfoy Manor and inform the ghost that he's been cloned?'

'Can't, Lucius walled up the dungeon. No one's been down there for nearly twenty years. Wormtail's ghost was a bit upset at his fate, learned the hard way that being forced to pay a life debt is the last thing you want to have happen to you. I've been told that the sounds he made were like listening to a cat being crucio'd. I suppose I could stop off there and get them to have one of their house elves check on it before going to Hogwarts. I'll have to go there to make sure that the spectre of Peter hasn't merged with his younger self anyhow, that would be a bad thing.'

'Harry, you're also going to have to take Pettigrew into custody.' Ginny stated 'If Lily and the others don't kill him there's still a few people around who'd like to kill him themselves, they won't care that he's a boy, they'll only see the man who resurrected Voldemort and helped you escape the Malfoy's. This is going to be a hell of a mess.'

'That's a bit of an understatement, Ginny. McGonagall did mention that they'd have loved the effect that their reappearance had on the students at the welcoming feast. Took us an hour to calm them down, but I don't think the kids who are now in the hospital wing are going to like hearing that they appeared in the Great Hall without a stich of clothing. Mind you, the Headmistress isn't going to allow you to take Pettigrew to jail unless you can prove that he's a threat to anyone.'

'Hang on a sec, Neville, I should have asked this first thing. How do you know that they're Lily Evans and the Marauders? Could this be a prank cooked up by James and his friends?'

'Marauder's map. Young James was right ticked off that I knew about it. Even more upset at my taking it from him than he was when you refused to get him to Hogwarts due to his late arrival.' Neville grinned, remembering the fuss that James Sirius Potter made about it being totally unfair that because he was born on the second of September he had to wait 364 days before he could go to Hogwarts. 'Have a look for yourself, they're in the hospital wing.' Neville handed the map over to the Potters. 'As a Professor I should ask you to secure the map so that young James doesn't get his hands on it again, but somehow I doubt that you'll keep it from him unless you burn it.'

'All part of the plan Neville' Said Ginny 'we don't want the children to follow in our footsteps, much better for them to prank, play Quidditch, perhaps learn to become animagi, than to hunt down a Dark Lord; chase after escaped convicts; or fight basilisks, dementors or dragons.'

Neville laughed lightly, 'It's working then, at least with young James, he's less malicious than the original marauders were, anyhow...'

The conversation broke off as an eagle patronus entered the room 'James Potter and Lily Evans are waking up, they're asking where Madam Pomphrey is and if they could talk to Dumbledore. Oh, and James has just noticed the full moon, he's looking from it to Remus and back with the most incredulous expression. Now, would be a very good time for Auror Potter to get his arse over here.'

'I thought you said they'd all sleep til morning?' Asked Harry

'Must have something to do with the order in which their original's died.' Replied Neville

Giving Ginny a quick kiss goodbye, Harry and Neville left the house to apparate to the gates of Hogwarts. Harry, somewhat reluctantly, sent his own patronus to the on-duty auror's to arrange for the protection of Peter Pettigrew.

hpgwhpgwhpgw

M'eh, it's a start. Love you if you'd tell me what you think of it...


	2. A chat with James and Lily

James and Lily;

Disclaimer; Still not mine.

Harry and Neville apparated directly to the gates of Hogwarts. Neither one was terribly willing to disobey a summons from Nurse Perks who, while one of the better healers for a school like Hogwarts, did have a tendency to hex her patients whilst treating them.

By in large Hogwarts hadn't changed that much in appearance from the days when the two of them walked the halls as students, the only notable change was the addition of a graveyard which had grown up around Professor Dumbledore's tomb. Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts it had been decided to inter the dead - whether friend or foe - on the grounds where they once attended school. Over the years the cemetery grew as memorial stones were erected to mark all those who had died in the Voldemort Wars, in addition to the two students who died while attending Hogwarts over the last two decades there was space set aside for all those who fought on May 1-2, 1998. The cemetery was enclosed with a brick wall, on each brick was the name of a muggle who had been murdered by those who believed it was their right to kill those who did not have magical abilities. Above the gate were inscribed words that would be hauntingly familiar at any muggle war memorial 'LEST WE FORGET.'

Making their way to the hospital wing, Harry was still trying to decide what to tell the people who, had they lived in their own time, would grow to be his parents. How do you tell teenagers that they're grandparents, but not really grandparents. Harry did wonder how they'd react to the idea that in their original lives James and Lily would fall in love, marry and have a kid before being killed by the foulest and most murderous Dark Wizard to plague the magical community since records began. He was still wondering how to go about talking to them when they entered the hospital wing.

Entering the Infirmary, Harry was struck by how quiet it was. He had expected that there would at least be some argument between Lily and James about who was responsible for getting them all into this situation, even if they were not yet aware of exactly what the situation was. Nurse Perks was blocking his view of the people who he couldn't help but think of as his parents.

'Hello again, Nurse Perks your patronus said they were awake.'

'Two of them are, Miss Evans is a proper patient who is waiting to talk to you and Professor Longbottom, Mr Potter was overly emotional, belligerent and demanding. Should you wish, you may remove the body bind curse, however I'd recommend against it. He doesn't seem to understand that his friend is no longer a Werewolf.'

'Of course.' Said Harry 'Tell me, please. Do any of them have any scars, tattoos, bite marks or injuries that require your services?'

'Not at all, perfectly healthy the lot of them. And before you ask, yes I did look for significant tattoos, none of these children had one of those, nor any other form of tattoo. I'd ask you not to upset them, but as I think that's unlikely I'll be standing by with some calming draughts.' Nodding her head to Harry and Neville, she entered her office. Giving Lily Evans her first look at Harry Potter.

'Who the hell are you?' Her eyes studied the appearance of the Auror and Professor, Harry looked like an older version of James. She noticed neither his eyes, nor his famous scar, she knew he was not James' father, he wasn't old enough to be him. Neville distracted her a bit more than looking at another James, who was not James. Professor Longbottom was much more of a distinguished figure, and not only because he was wearing professor's robes which marked him as the head of Gryffindor, there were a number of old scars across his face and his hair was turning silver at his temples. He looked like the Head of Gryffindor House should look, if he were male.

'Where's Professor McGonagall, or Dumbledore? What on earth is going on here?' Lily asked, for the first time looking quite unsure of her surroundings. James, unable to move anything but his eyes was staring at Harry, unable to believe what he was seeing he closed his eyes only to open them again and silently beg to be freed from the Nurse's curse.

'Hello, Miss Evans and Mr Potter. I'm Neville Longbottom and this is Head Auror Harry Potter, you're not in trouble, and as safe as can be while being at Hogwarts. I'm afraid that the five of you have had a bit of a temporal accident. Could you tell us what is the last thing you remember before waking up tonight?'

'Not until you tell me what's going on. Don't you dare expect me to talk to complete strangers, especially with wizard's like You-Know-Who running around.'

Neville looked at Harry with an amused twinkle in his eyes. 'I think, Harry, we'll have to use plan B. Don't forget when they've come from. Professor McGonnagall retired nearly ten years ago. Professor Dumbledore died twenty years ago.'

Lily interrupted, glaring at James she started to rant 'You vile toe-rag! How dare you play such a horrid prank on me!' Grabbing a bed pan she was prevented from braining James by a well timed body bind fired by Harry.

'Sorry about that' Harry apologised as he levitated Lily back onto her bed ' I think plan C is in order. I'll tell you what we think has happened to the two of you and your three friends and hopefully you can confirm some of it. Forty years ago the five of you confronted a rather nasty wizard who was trying to steal something from Hogwarts. What we don't know is how you knew that Voldemort was stealing the Eye of Zeus, nor do we know exactly how the five of you were able to use the stone to transport your clones so far into the future. The last of you died at the Battle of Hogwarts, nineteen years ago. Perhaps an hour or two before Voldemort committed suicide.'

'Voldemort didn't commit suicide Harry, I still don't know why you insist on saying that. Everyone else agrees that you killed him...'

'This isn't the time for that argument, Neville. He should have known that curse didn't work on me and tried something else. It was his way of committing suicide. Anyhow,' Harry turned to the petrified James and Lily, 'if you promise not to attack each other I'll uncurse you. Blink if you're willing to behave.'

After removing the body binds James was the first to speak. 'Lily, if this is a prank, I'm not responsible for it.' Turning to Harry, James asked 'Exactly how are we related to you? How did You-Know-Who die. Finally, if Dumbledore is really dead I'd like to be able to talk to his portrait. I'm sure that all of us can agree that something weird is going on, but I'd like a bit of proof if you don't mind.'

'The original James Potter was my father, he married the original Lily Evans after they graduated from Hogwarts. I was told that you had to grow up a bit and stop hexing Snape before Lily paid you any attention. Well, positive attention anyhow. Please use either of his names, Tom Riddle or Voldemort. He's quite dead, we buried him at the foot of Dumbledore's tomb. If you'd like you can see it later. I'll have to warn you about the portraits though, Dumbledore isn't the only one who's been headmaster these past twenty years. Mr. Potter are you quite sure that you have the ability to be respectful to the portrait of Headmaster Severus Snape?'

James started to sputter, utterly unable to wrap his mind around the idea that not only would Snape have been a Headmaster, but that he'd been asked by his supposed son to treat the greasy git with respect.

'You have got to be joking, the last time I spoke with Severus, he had planed on joining the Death Eaters, how on Earth could he become the Headmaster of Hogwarts?' Lily asked

'He was the Headmaster in my seventh year' stated Neville, 'and yes, he was a Death Eater. But he not exactly loyal to Voldemort. It's a long story, but in the end Professor Snape gave the latter part of his life to see to it that Voldemort was destroyed. He wasn't the only Death Eater to betray Voldemort either, Sirius' brother died trying to destroy him.'

As James was still trying to come to grip with the idea of a Professor Snively, Lily continued 'I'm sorry he died then, sorrier that he ended up joining them, he was like a brother to me before Hogwarts. He would have done better not to have been sorted into Slytherin. Tell me why you are talking about the original James and Lily, isn't that us?'

'I'm not sure about that, Professor Snape was appalled with the idea of not being in Slytherin when Dumbledore mentioned that to him. Let's also admit that if things had been different fish would have feathers. Anyhow, you're not the original Lily Evans, nor the original James Potter. Nome of the five of you have really lived before. James and Lily Potter lived their lives and were killed by Voldemort on Halloween, 1981. They were happily married, but you are not married to James. If you don't believe me, check out the Marauder's Map. It clearly lists you as Lily Evans, not Potter. The magic that brought you here is known, that it happened to more than one of you is unique. The five of you should be new souls, although you have the experience of having started your life in the 1960s, you will be continuing your life in the 2010s. Unfortunately that means that you are now orphans, Lily your sister is still alive, but she is now a grandmother.'

'You have the Map?' Asked James brightly 'That's how we knew a Tom Riddle was trying to steal the Eye. It was when we saw him marked on the Map while in the forbidden room, we met up with Remus and Evans who were patrolling after dinner, long story short, we stole from him what he was trying to steal from Hogwarts.'

Lily winced at the memory, shook her head and asked if it was possible for her to talk to her sister again.

Harry shrugged helplessly 'I'm not sure that's a good idea, Lily. I'm sure you know that Aunt Petunia didn't like the idea of magic, and if she were to see you again I honestly don't think she'd react well. She never went to your funeral, as far as I know she never forgave you for being magic. But, I've not spoken to her in nineteen years. My family visit your nephew, Dudley Dursley, the kids hate going there and desperately try to fake illness to get out of the trips. Would you mind if I spoke to Dudley about this issue before you write or speak to Petunia?'

'I think I know my own sister a bit better than you do, Harry Potter.' Said Lily waspishly 'After all I did grow up with her. I know very well that there's no way that she'd have agreed to raise a magical child so I highly doubt you've met her more than once or twice in your life. I will talk to her, I'm not really going to believe that it's the 21st century until I do so; so no. You are most certainly not going to get the chance to prepare some elaborate ruse, I'm awake it's not that late for 'Tuney to be up so you're going to take me to visit my sister tonight.'

'Miss Evans, you should be a bit more careful with what you say. You knew Petunia Evans, but I was raised by Petunia Dursley. Wasn't the best of circumstances, but the alternative would have been far worse. Due to the nature of Voldemort's magical experiment at achieving immortality, had I not been raised by her my own soul would likely have been consumed by one of Tom's soul fragments. I spent ten years being dragged up by your sister, and let me tell you you'd be hard pressed to find a worse caregiver than her, until you met her husband, dear Uncle Vernon. They were the muggle version of a Death Eater couple.'

Harry took a breath, willing himself not to start screaming at the girl who he knew without doubt had no idea of what she spoke. Not to mention the fact that James Potter looked like he was getting ready to pummel Harry if he continued to speak to Lily in that manner. 'Aunt Petunia is in her late sixties, or early seventies having you show up on her doorstep would give the old busybody a heart attack. As much as I dislike my aunt I will not allow you to bring about her death in such a thoughtless manner. Did you ever tell your sister about things like the Eye of Zeus? No, I didn't think so. She is a muggle.'

Harry stressed the concept and continued over Lily's protest 'This is not something to which she will react in any sort of positive manner, especially if you show up on her doorstep unannounced. At best she'd think she'd gone mad, most likely she'd think my daughter was messing around with an aging potion and attack you. As far as she knows you don't exist anymore, if she thinks of meeting you again at all, and I very much doubt she has enough imagination left to consider the possibility, she's not going to think of it happening in the rest of her lifetime. You will have proof of the fact that you're not in the 1970s anymore, you'll have it at breakfast when you go to the Great Hall to eat. You'll not be able to miss the wall of Remembrance opposite the Great Hall, and for Merlin's sake avoid stepping on the spot where Voldemort was sent to hell, doing that is an automatic fortnight of graveyard detention.' Harry's voice started to crack as he finished. 'When you last walked the grounds of Hogwarts there wasn't a bloody cemetery on the front lawn.'

Harry paused, and waving his wand silently summoned a tea service from the kitchens. Looking at James and Lily he couldn't help but feel sympathy for their situation. 'Help yourselves to some tea and biscuits, I apologize for being short with you. You couldn't have known how I was raised.'

'You mentioned a soul fragment?' James - who was looking quite horrified by the idea - began, 'Are you telling us that You-Know-Who made a horcrux out of you?'

'How do you know about such dark magic, Mr Potter? And yes, in a way he did, but it wasn't a real horcrux, it was the result of a backfired avada kedavera combined with Tom's having made more than one of the things.'

James was aghast at the idea of splitting a soul 'Sirius knew stories about them, his family experimented with them centuries ago. Sirius wondered if You-Know-Who had made one, but thought he'd must have found something more evil than that. Wait, a backfired avada kedavera? I didn't think that was possible, the killing curse is one of those curses you can't use on yourself.'

'Voldemort did, twice in fact. The first time on Halloween 1981 when he fired it at me the first time, the second time it backfired on him was when he finally died, 2 May, 1998. Considering the number of times he fired that curse at me, he really should have known better than to have used it. That's why I say he killed himself. By the way, I'm going to insist that you stop that You-Know-Who rubbish, from now on, each time you use that term I'll be taking 20 points from Gryffindor, and for every hundred points you lose you'll earn a detention. Call him Tom Riddle, that was his birth name, Voldemort or if you desire you may call him Moldywarts, but not you know what.'

'So, now you two know how Voldemort died; piece by piece.' Neville said 'Anyhow, aside from the horrible way the two of us were raised, and how Voldyshorts popped his clogs. We do need to talk with you about what has happened to you and what your futures will entail. If you insist, we'll go up to the Headmistress' office and talk with Dumbledore's portrait. But as Harry mentioned, you'll have to treat Professor Snape with respect, the portraits do have the ability to make your lives complicated while you're students. As far as your time to come at Hogwarts. What you accomplished so far in school will be taken into account, the castle has already setup beds for you in the sixth year's dorms, Harry has arranged for you to get clothes and supplies for the coming year. You're enrolled for your sixth year, and you don't have to worry about paying tuition. You will not be held responsible for the any acts of marriage, nor for any crimes committed by any of the original people.'

'Crimes, what crimes are you talking about?' James protested. Looking outraged that he'd be accused of any such behaviour.

Harry smiled, happy that the conversation had moved away from the Dursley's and his own history. 'Becoming an unregistered animagus while fifth year students might be a good start there James, what's that worth again? Six months in Azkaban? I also know that you let a werewolf loose from the Shrieking Shack while attending your fifth, sixth and seventh years. Did you realise what would have happened to the four of you had Remus bitten anyone? By the way, McGonagall would like to speak with the three of you before you attempt to transform, considering that Remus is no longer a werewolf; you, Sirius and Scabbers might no longer be a stag, grim or rat. So, as you're not officially an animagus any longer, you can't now be charged for that offence, and McGonagall will make sure you register after she makes sure you can transform successfully. Congrats.'

Lily glared again at James, looking furious enough to pick up the bed pan again. 'Animagi, they became animagi? While in fifth year? No wonder your head's the size of Mars. This is unbelievable. I'm going to hurt Peter for suggesting that we destroy that thing, he said that if we all destroyed it the thing wouldn't send any of us into the future. I knew we shouldn't have listened to that idiot! Why the hell didn't you stop him, James.'

'Peter's not an idiot, he's misunderstood and underappreciated. He's had a good number of excellent ideas over the years and I was sure that he was right about destroying the thing. It's not his fault that he was wrong this time.'

'Coming up with stupid pranks are not the definition of ...'

'Hold on, you can argue about this later.' Interrupted Harry, having had years of experience at stopping an argument thanks to Ron and Hermione. 'Peter Pettigrew was the one who suggested that all of you should destroy the Eye?' Harry shook his head disbelievingly as James and Lily nodded their heads in answer. 'Little bastard saved all of your lives before betraying you and joining Voldemort's Death Eaters did he? Merlin's balls. I've heard everything now, nothing will ever surprise me again.'

'Peter? Him?! Join the Death Eaters? Not possible, he's a half-blood.' James protested 'There's no way he'd be able to join that lot of tosser's, I'd believe what you said about Snively before I'd believe that Peter could talk to V-v-voldemort. Peter, he doesn't have it in him.' James stoped speaking as he noticed the dark looks coming from both Harry and Neville. 'You're serious, how the hell did that happen?'

'I'm very serious. I'll thank you to never again use that word when referring to Severus, my youngest son is named Albus Severus. You will not like the result of him hearing that term out of your mouth. Speaking of Half-bloods, Voldemort's father was a muggle, as was Severus'. The original Peter Pettigrew was directly responsible for the deaths of Lily and James Potter, he eventually died as a result of my calling in a life-debt that he owed me. The spirit of his original is now a spectre which haunts the Malfoy Manor's dungeon. If that spectre is not there any longer, we'll be questioning your friend very closely before he's let back into the general wizarding community. Actually, we're going to question him closely anyhow. It might be true that we can't charge him for the actions and magic he cast later in his original life, but you can be damn sure I'll not forget what he did with his life. Anyhow, it's quite likely that as a result of the actions of the original Peter Pettigrew he'll not survive long enough to graduate. I'll warn you now, should he be killed, you two, Sirius and Remus will be my first suspects. I'll also expect you to keep him away from my children, nephews and nieces, most of whom are easy enough to spot; an abundance of red heads.'

'Enough!' Barked Nurse Perks 'The lot of you have spoken long enough, I will insist on you two taking a sleeping draught, there's been enough excitement for one evening. You can continue your interrogation tomorrow Auror Potter. The other three should be awake in the morning and you can give them a tour of the castle and grounds then. Right now, bed.'

Surprisingly enough neither James nor Lily protested being fed their potions and fell asleep quickly. As they walked out of the Infirmary Neville asked Harry if he was going to return the Map to young James.

'Certainly not, the lad knows that if he wants something like this, he'll have to earn it back. It won't be stuffed in my desk this time.' Grinned Harry 'I'm surprised that we got through that with only one hex, I could have sworn that they'd not have taken travelling this far into the future as well as they have.'

'Harry, you're mad.' Replied Neville 'They've not had the time to think about what's happened nor to really understand what it means for their lives, and when they do I'd imagine all hell will break loose between them. Especially if they get hold of Rita's books. I think we've earned a nightcap, would you care to visit the garden?'

'No, thanks anyhow. I'd rather talk to my wife, you'll remember she's prettier than you are, we'll see you tomorrow morning. By the way, weren't you supposed to be going to Andromeda's house? I'm sure we can get Molly to mind L'll Potter for the day.'

After bidding each other goodnight, Harry went home to his wife. Still hoping that all would be well in the morning.

Hpgwrwhghpgwrwhg.

Gotta find a better way to note the end of a chappie. Well, it's a bit longer than the first chapter, still don't have a beta, and wonder if you like reading this cause it's going to be different or because the other fics are just that much worse than this one. (Grin) But really, hp/lv, what the writer must be smoking to come up with a story like that I don't want to know. Although I've not mentioned it directly yet the Moon phases for this story will not comply with scientific accuracy. The Moon was a waning gibbous moon on Halloween 1977. And rather than a full moon on Sept 1, 2017 the full moon will be on Sept 6, 2017, as with canon the phases of the moon will shift due to artistic licence. (Grin)


	3. geezer gumdrops

Geezer gumdrops;

Due to the dearth of good fanfics I've decided to write another chapter. I'd like to thank those who reviewed and those who added this poor excuse of a fanfic to their story alerts, considering how short this has been so far, I must admit I never expected the response. Hope you like it, or better yet it inspires you to write a better fic. Disclaimer; still not mine.

Understandably, James Potter was rather reluctant to open his eyes the next morning. The running battle through the corridors of Hogwarts had ended not with their demise nor with a chat with Dumbledore, but to awaken in the hospital wing with a human Remus Lupin under a full moon. Hearing that Remus was no longer a werewolf wasn't something that he had been able to accept as possible, everyone knew that a cure for lycanthropy was at best a faint hope. He regretted the fact that he'd revealed Remus' secret to Lily, but wondered a bit about her lack of reaction to the news. The story, half a story at best now that he thought about it, from that person who called himself Harry Potter seemed unbelievable. It had to have been a dream; a really, really strange dream, and could not possibly have happened. Had it really happened James wondered about the consequences they'd all face for cheating death. With that thought foremost in his mind James Potter opened his eyes.

'Morning' Lily said, 'Decided you were dreaming did you?'

James looked around Remus, Sirius and Peter were still out like lights. Lily was sitting up in the bed next to his and reading what looked like a muggle studies book. James couldn't help himself asking

'Why are you reading about muggles, didn't you grow up with them?'

'Yes, but it seems that a few things have changed in the last four decades. Quite a few things actually, things I wouldn't have believed possible. I'm still not sure I believe that this isn't one hell of an extraordinary prank. Then again, you and your friends aren't quite this creative.'

'I don't believe this is happening either. Nor will I until I see You-Know-Who's grave as well as Dumbledore's portrait. I'm thinking that it was your old chum who's hit us with a potion that's caused a shared hallucination.'

'Not a chance, Potter. Snape's good at potions, but he's not this good. I couldn't begin to think of what would be required to make a potion that would allow us to have the same hallucination. There's lots of potions that will make your head spin, and that's not even counting the ones the muggles come up with, but no. Whatever this is, it was caused by that damn rock we destroyed.'

'Have you realise we're having a civilized conversation. Think it might have to do with seeing someone who claimed to be our son?'

Lily glared at James, 'No, I will not go out with you. If what he said is true, you've had your chance. Find some other girl to bother.'

'Ah, you're awake.' Neville stopped their argument by entering the Infirmary, 'Good morning, hope you slept well. I see Kritter has dropped off some trunks for you as well. If you'll get dressed, I'll escort you down to breakfast. Harry's running a bit late this morning, but he'll take you down to Ollivander's this morning. Good thing it's the weekend, you'll not miss any classes' Neville quickly summoned the bed curtains to allow them their modesty. 'I know we dumped a bit on you last night, hopefully we can have most of your questions answered by tonight. I'll have to ask you to be a bit patient with us, those of us who lived through the last years of the Voldemort Wars don't like to repeat the story too often, and there will be some things that we'll never talk about. I hope you'll forgive us for that.'

'My father is a veteran of the muggle Second World War, and I hope I don't have to remind you that we seem to have lived through that same V-V-Voldemort War as well. I saw the trunk when I woke up, but we don't seem to have our wands and I don't like being without it.'

'Of course. Nurse Perks said that your friends should be fully with us by this evening, by tomorrow you'll all have new wands. I'm afraid that you're going to have some special classes this weekend to get yourselves caught up with recent events in the world. Beyond that, the staff and I will do our best to help you acclimatize yourselves to your new situation. We realise that this is not going to be easy for you, it should help that there are those who can help you get through this.'

'I do have a quick question, Professor, why do I have a book for muggle studies in my trunk?' Asked Lily from behind her curtain.

'One of the changes left over from The Wars. Actually it was an introduction made by the Death Eaters when they took over. They made muggle studies mandatory, of course we don't have the same curriculum that they did. But everyone takes it now, including the muggleborns. It's not the fluff class that it used to be, firstly it's now taught by a muggleborn. It's also a class that includes a fair bit of philosophy, how to interact with the muggle world as well as some of muggle inventions that have crossed over to the magical world. Things like mobiles, and how to deal with muggle magic.'

'Muggle magic?' James interrupted, sounding quite puzzled 'What do you mean by that?'

Neville laughed 'If you wanted to send a letter to New Zealand, how long would it take an owl to get there and back? Two or three weeks at best, but if you use muggle magic and a machine called a computer that same letter will arrive less than a minute after you send it from England. Doesn't work at Hogwarts, much to the frustration of the muggleborn and quite the number of wizardborn, but you can find internet café's in Hogsmeade these days. You'll go there weekly as part of the muggle studies class, if the muggleborn didn't get to have access to their computers they'd not come to Hogwarts. George Weasley came up with a magical version of the Mobile fellyfone, which does work in Hogwarts and is one of the few Weasley Wizarding Wheezes which students are allowed to use between classes.'

'Do you mean telephones? But they're hooked up to the walls, you can't have wired Hogwarts with electricity and telephone lines can you?'

'No, no wires at all on these things. Quite useful, dead annoying if you leave one on while in class. I give a detention if you let your phone ring in Herbology, some of the other teachers insist on answering the phone for you as well as giving detentions. Never let your phone ring in DADA, Professor Thrasher destroys the Mobile, then gives you get a lesson in duelling and finally sends you to the Infirmary. She almost never hands out detentions.'

'The teacher fights with the students in DADA?' James squeaked.

'Yes, she's quite a good professor. Quite skilled at DADA, became the Head of Slytherin after Slughorn went back to retirement after the Second War. One of the very few pre-War muggleborn Slytherin's you know. She graduated the year before I started at Hogwarts, and didn't come back until The War had ended. She's the one who officially broke the DADA curse that Voldemort placed on the position after Dumbledore refused to hire him to teach the class. Because of that she does get away with a bit, still no one's died from her instructions, and Slytherin has become a much happier house with her as its head.'

Ready to leave for breakfast the trio exited the infirmary only to notice the first of many changes at Hogwarts since they last walked its halls. On nearly every wall was evidence of recent stonework, bright patches that stood out against the older parts of the walls. Walking to the staircases James and Lily both silently noted that the bannisters had all been replaced, along with quite a few stairs in the staircases. As they neared the Great Hall a young voice rang out.

'Professor Longbottom, professor!' It was a young red headed man who looked a bit familiar, 'Professor, may I have that parchment I lent you last night?'

'Hello young James. I do apologise, but you'll have to ask your father for it. He said something about your having to earn it back and that it wouldn't be in a desk drawer the next time.' Before young James could do much more than look outraged and about to say something he'd later regret, Neville continued 'I'd like you to meet some newish Gryffindors, James Sirius Potter this is James Potter and Lily Evans. They've had a bit of a temporal incident and should be around for the next few years. May I ask you to escort them to breakfast, your father should be arriving soon and you may ask him for your map. If the three of you will excuse me, I've eaten already and have a few lessons to prepare for.'

Young James looked at the new arrivals and asked what would become a popular question over the next few weeks. 'How many points did you lose for popping up at the Welcoming Feast naked?'

James and Lily looked stunned, than blushed deeply. Young James began to snicker, 'Don't worry about it, it's not like everyone got pictures. Only those of us who have picture Mobiles, wanna see?'

'I'm not sure I'm hungry anymore.'

'Come on Evans, it'll blow over quickly enough. If it doesn't I'm sure we'll do something else to take their minds off that. Alright kid, what do you mean by showing us pictures?'

Young James promptly pulled out a dark green WWW Mobile with a golden talon embossed it. After opening the flip cover he quickly scrolled through some photos to find the image of Lily and the Marauder's entrance from the night before. James paled at the sight, looking over at Lily he quickly apologised and tried to prevent her from looking at the photo.

'Peter is going to die, slowly. He can't suffer for this long enough, I don't think.' Said Lily after looking at the photo. 'How on earth does this thing work?'

'Never mind that, who the heck are you that you're walking around being introduced with my name?' Demanded young James. 'I'm the only James Potter in this school, so you'd better be thinking of changing your own name right quick. Or I'll sick my cousins on you.'

'I was named James long before your own father was a twinkle in his father's eye, kiddo. You don't frighten me with talk of any cousins, and I'm not scared of what a pipsqueak like you can manage with a wand. To answer your question, according to your father and Professor Longbottom we're the clones of your grandparents. So you're not the only James Potter anymore, how about we call you little Sirius? I think that would work well for all of us, don't you.'

Young James looked thoughtful, he had hoped to use something his Uncle George had given him against his younger brother. But who was he to deny this new, much more worthy target of his ire, not to mention that the timing couldn't have been better as they had just arrived at the Great Hall.

'I'm sure we can work something out there, Gramps. Here, have a gumdrop.'

Young James passed James Potter a gumdrop wrapped in white cellophane. Without thinking James unwrapped and ate the sweet, noticing neither the white whiskers sprouting on his face, nor the fact that his black hair had turned completely white. On entering the Great Hall, he did notice the large number of flashes from WWW Mobiles as well as the laughter his entrance had prompted. Waving cheekily at his audience James sauntered over to the Gryffindor Table as if he had intended to provoke such a spectacle.

'I wonder how long it's going to take him to notice his new beard? Where did you get those gumdrops?'

Looking particularly pleased with himself young James answered. 'Uncle George owns a joke shop, they're called Geezer Gumdrops and the victim doesn't notice the change until someone points it out to him. If he really is my grandfather's clone, he'd better be able to take a joke. You do realise this is quite a bit bizarre, even for Hogwarts.'

'Interesting. Yes, Hogwarts can be quite strange. As for his ability to take a joke, we'll have to wait and see; true?' Looking around the entrance of Hogwarts Lily noticed that one of the walls was covered with still photo's. She didn't get much of a chance to look at them before being dragged into the hall by young James to have breakfast.

For the first time in years Lily Evans quite enjoyed sharing a table with James Potter, she also enjoyed the company of young James. It might have had something to do with the fact that James Potter was constantly reminding her that the other students were not really laughing at them for flashing the school last night, while knowing that they were indeed laughing at the ridiculous appearance of James Potter. For some reason or another no one seemed willing to mention the fact that he now looked a bit like Albus Dumbledore without the broken nose. She was quite proud of her ability to hide her amusement, of course she'd had years of putting up with the more immature pranks of the Marauders. This sort of prank was far more subtle and rewarding than some of the more outrageous things that they used to get up to during her time at Hogwarts. The students at the other tables were noticeably more relaxed and it was quite obvious that there was no Dark Lord threatening their existence. The Slytherin's seemed to be much more of a pleasant crowd than during her last year at Hogwarts, their smiles were not smirks, and they seemed to have lost the attitude that came with being the 'pureblood' house of Salazar Slytherin.

James too was enjoying breakfast, he still had no idea what was so funny about flashing the school that the other students continued to point and laugh throughout his entire breakfast. Of course had he noticed that his beard was gathering bits of crumb, jam, egg yolk and brown bean sauce... But fortunately for the sake of the prank, he had yet to notice. He did notice that the laughter died off quickly when Harry Potter entered the Hall, dressed not in robes but in casual attire that no muggle would cast a second glance at. Before he could ask young James why the hall shut up when Harry entered the room, Harry had joined them sitting opposite James and Lily and beside his son. Both James and Lily noticed that there was a parchment sticking half out of Harry's pocket, something that young James couldn't miss either. Looking at his son, Harry asked.

'Happy Birthday James, why did you give James Sr. a Geezer Gumdrop?'

'Did you have to mention that today is the day which must not be commented on? The opportunity presented itself, he wanted to call me Sirius. Besides if he is my grandfather shouldn't he look like one?'

'Hmmm, quite right and yes, I did have to wish you a happy birthday. It was your own fault that you were born 13 years ago today you know. You were due August 21, not that I'm at all sorry that we got to keep you for an extra year before you started here. Have you seen your brother this morning, or is he still in bed?'

'Albus doesn't wake up on Saturday mornings, dad. I doubt he'll be out of bed before noon, and if he is I'm sure he'll get lost on his way here.'

'Hmmm, you don't think your brother's wise enough to be a Ravenclaw do you? Not been surprised by him enough yet, have you? Don't worry, that'll change. By the way, you'll want to watch your beard, James, they do tend to act like crumb collectors.' Harry grinned turning to look at James Sr. That was the point at which the houses started to make rather ribald comments about Grandfather James, it was also how James Sr. got his new nickname of Gramps. As James Sr. tried to clean his beard in vain, Lily noticed that young James was pocketing a piece of parchment with a smug expression that told her he thought he had been able to pull something over on his father. James Sirius quickly said his goodbyes and took off to meet some of his own friends and tell them what he had discovered about the night before.

'Right,' said Harry as he silently cast a charm that cancelled the effect of the Geezer Gumdrop, 'are you ready to head for Diagon Alley?'

'Not to be rude or anything. But would you show us You-Know-Who's grave?' James asked as they left the Great Hall.

'That's twenty points from Gryffindor, and yes. It's on the way after all, we'll come back by floo to the Headmistress' office.'

'How are you able to take points?' Asked Lily, who was obviously not too happy with the loss of points from her house.

'Associate Professor of DADA. I give quarterly lectures to the upperclassmen, and have a chat with the younger years on an annual basis.' Harry grinned at James 'I'm the nice professor though, almost never take points or give detention, so I'll thank you, James, not to make me do that again.'

'It's not an easy habit to break, you'd know that if you ever saw him coming after you?' James said without thinking.

'I think alphabet soup is on order for lunch. That'll make it much easier for you to eat your words.' Harry replied grimly. 'The first time I remember him coming after me I was fifteen months old; he hit me with an avada kedavera which then rebounded on him and destroyed his original body. The second time he came after me I was eleven; I won. I was twelve the third time he came after me I killed one of his horcruxes as well as a thousand year old Basilisk. I duelled the resurrected son of a bitch when I was fourteen years old; I escaped, and the last few times we fought was when I was seventeen. Bastard killed my owl, too many friends, hit me with a second A.K, which destroyed the accidental horcrux he made of me before, finally, he committed suicide when the fool threw a third A.K. at me.'

'How did you find a basilisk to kill at the age of twelve?' Asked Lily seeing that James was quite reluctant to say anything else.

'It was in Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.' Sighed Harry 'It's a very long story, and I don't want to get into the nitty gritty of it until your friends are up. You're getting the short version because I doubt you'll stop asking before they're up.'

As they passed through the front doors of Hogwarts, James and Lily couldn't help but notice the cemetery on the front lawn. Still trying to believe what they were hearing they barely listened to Harry's explanation of how the graveyard came to be built, as they entered the cemetery Harry stopped speaking. There wasn't the ordered burials of plots as there was in a muggle cemetery, instead the graves were mixed up quite randomly. Some were buried along the walls, others were buried diagonally from their neighbours, others seem to have been buried standing up (the bodies of the giants, of course). Leading them to the tomb of Albus Dumbledore, beside whom was a gravestone marking the final resting place of Severus Snape. At their feet was a plot which contained the remains of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Riddle's headstone was a rather simple affair, under his birth name was written 'I was Lord Voldemort.'

Not a word was spoken for the time it took them to pay their respect to the dead, Harry was silently saying hello to the people and the markers which told of their passing. James looked disbelievingly at the names on the gravestones, horrified that the names of the dead contained far too many people who had been born after his own sixth year at Hogwarts and ended long before they had reached the age of eighteen. Lily was numb at the sight of her first magical friend's gravestone, it too was a simple affair, only containing his name, birth date and when he died; 2 May, 1998.

Eventually their attention wandered a bit to the names and dates written on the bricks which made the walls of the cemetery. Upon each was written the name and the date of death of someone who had died during The War. On some bricks were written nothing more than 'a person known but to God.' Still not a word was spoken by anyone, after a few minutes which seemed like they could have been hours or mere moments. Harry tapped their shoulders and motioned for them to leave.

The trip to Ollivander's went smoothly enough, the kids got their new wands. Ollivander insisted that while Remus and Sirius were welcome to buy their wands from him, Peter would be killed should he dare enter his shop. James was disappointed that he was not given the opportunity for a quick visit to the joke shop, although he didn't protest too strongly as he was wondering exactly what Peter did in his original life that people like Ollivander would so casually threaten his life. Not to mention that the Head Auror didn't think that death threats was an unexpected thing when talking about one of his oldest friends.

Arriving back at the Headmistress' office, James took note of Dumbledore's portrait. Knowing that Snape would not want to talk with him, he surprised Lily when he suggested that she speak to Severus and that he and Harry would wait for her outside the Headmistress' office. As he and Harry left the office James had to suppress a snicker when he heard Snape telling Lily that he was surprised James could use his real name.

'How are you holding up, James? You're being awfully quiet.'

'I don't know, too much has changed since last Halloween. You're expecting a friend of mine to be killed, and that does bother me quite a bit. Head Auror's aren't supposed to ignore death threats.'

'No, we're not, and I'm not ignoring them. I doubt that any of the death threats I've heard uttered so far are serious ones, that doesn't mean that there wont be such threats in the near future. But right now, he's safe enough. Unfortunately for Peter, he's a bit of a special case. I'll be bluntly honest with you. In his original life, he betrayed my parents to their deaths, framed Sirius Black for mass murder, in my fourth year he kidnapped me, murdered a friend of mine, resurrected Voldemort and finally when I was seventeen he tried to kill me. There's no love lost between your friend and I. I can assure you that I would do my best to find and prosecute anyone who murdered Peter Pettigrew. That's a hollow promise in the end though. He'd be dead, and it's not that likely that a jury would convict anyone for the crime. In some ways it would be better for him if his spectre had merged with the body of young Peter, I could then arrest him and keep him safely in Azkaban until he died of old age. We don't use dementors there anymore. Unfortunately for both Peter's, that spectre is still haunting Malfoy Manor, so that's not going to happen. What we're planning to do is to have your friend go through a change of identity. As long as no one finds out that he came into the future with you there's a good chance we'll be able to keep someone from killing him.'

James looked appalled. 'What you're saying is that no matter what I've lost a friend. Isn't there some way he can stick around, I understand what you're saying about the other Peter, but can't there be another solution?'

'That's up to Peter Pettigrew in the end. I'll have to speak with him separately from the four of you. I'll tell him what options he has, what his original life's history was. Show him the testimonies of Death Eater's and their living victims. I promise not to kill him, and you'll have the chance to say goodbye to him if he decides to disappear, or to talk him out of it should you chose to do so after hearing the whole story.'

'But v-v-v-v, bah, Riddle is dead. Shouldn't things have a happy ending?'

'This is life, James, not a story. Not that all stories end happily either. This is the major reason people stopped using the Eye of Zeus four centuries ago. Too many people didn't like the way their originals had lived their lives. Surviving the Black Death came at too high a price. Too many clones were murdered after their rebirths. You never know, maybe you, Sirius, Remus and Lily won't want to kill Peter, and he might be able to live a long and happy life using his original name. But I'd neither make, nor take that bet myself.'

'You think I'd be willing to kill a friend?'

Harry just nodded.

'What price will the rest of us be paying?' James asked himself rhetorically.

James and Harry waited another ten minutes in silence until Lily rejoined them. Neither of them commented on the fact that Lily looked as if she'd been crying, and she didn't ask them why they looked so morose.

Instead of taking the kids to a planned history class, Harry escorted them back to the infirmary where Nurse Perks gave them a strong calming draught to tide them over until Sirius Black was expected to wake up.

Hpgwrwhghpgw

Ok, I'm ending this chapter here. I was going to keep on with writing about Sirius waking up, but this took on a dimension of its own and went where I really didn't expect it to go. I'll probably have to re-write the whole thing later if it's to continue, but hey. I'll cross that bridge when/if I get a beta. Hint hint. Review if you'd like.


	4. Wake Up Padfoot

Still not mine. The chapter after this one will go back to Harry's point of view (I hope, anyhow.) Anyhow, if you are a beta reader and like this story, send me a message. Gah, I'd also like to apologise for the last chapter, I'll have to rewrite it. This one too. But here it is, another chapter in my quest to provide better fanfic ideas for other authors.

Wake up Padfoot!

James Potter sat on the chair beside his infirmary bed and let the calming potion take effect. Looking up at the nurse he asked her why people seemed to insist that they continue to spend time in the hospital wing when they were not injured.

Nurse Perks shook her head sadly, and in a surprisingly soft tone explained. 'You will be discharged when I think you have the skills needed to deal with living in the 21st century. You can't tell me that you're not in a state of shock. From your point of view Voldemort was hexing you yesterday, last week you would have been hearing stories of people being tortured, killed and committing horrible crimes against each other. I know that Auror Potter has informed you of some of those crimes, and hopefully he's revealed the worst of them. It took the students of Hogwarts years to recover from seeing a war end on the grounds, not to mention the effects of having Death Eaters teaching them how to do magic. Even when I allow you to sleep in your dorms, I'll expect each of you to visit me and talk about what you're going through.'

'Where's Peter?' Asked Lily in a voice that was quite hostile considering the amount of calming potion she'd just taken. 'Why isn't he here anymore' She nearly growled as she finished 'I'd like to speak with him.'

'Yes, I'm quite sure you'd like to, ahem, speak with him. You're not going to do that for a while, just because you could get away with murdering him doesn't mean that we'll allow you to do it so easily. I'll remind you that the Peter Pettigrew who arrived with you is not the Death Eater responsible for the loss of so many lives. He, like the two of you, hasn't killed anyone, nor has he betrayed you. Should you wish to speak with the Peter Pettigrew who is responsible for those acts, you can visit Malfoy Manor. You'll find him there, not here at Hogwarts.'

'Harry said that he's a spectre' Began James, speaking in a defeated voice. 'We really can't harm him more than he's already harmed himself. Evans, it's better to go through life without killing someone. My father said that he never forgave himself for the one wizard he did kill during the Grindelwald war. Even though that wizard was trying his best to kill my dad, dad always argued that he'd have been a happier man if he'd just been able to stun the guy. You've heard Harry claim that Voldemort committed suicide, he's not saying that because it's true. He says that because that's the only way he can look at himself, even killing someone who deserves to die ends up hurting the killer.'

Seeing that the two kids were speaking Nurse Perks withdrew to her office, needless to say there was an eavesdropping spell in place to allow her warning should she be needed again.

'What on Earth is a spectre, and why do you think I'm not able to hurt him more than he already is. Do you know what Snape said he's responsible for?' Lily looked furious that James had dared suggest she not hurt his friend. She couldn't believe that he'd take up for Peter when he had spent the last five years in a running feud with a group of Slytherin's which had once included a former friend of hers.

'He betrayed us to You-Know-Who, framed Sirius for mass murder and then resurrected You-Know-Who's body. I'm sure he's done more than that too. Harry -The Head Auror - expects and is planning to catch and prosecute the person who murders Peter. And he's not yet dead! A friend of mine is going to be killed, and I can't see a way of stopping it, worst of all, there's the fact that the five of us have cheated death. Nothing good ever comes of doing that.'

'What? We didn't cheat death, we were cloned thanks to Peter's stupid idea that we should destroy something we knew too little about.'

'Evans, we were dead. Now, we're not dead. You can call what we are clones, but the fact is that we have cheated the natural order of things. You're not supposed to get a second chance at life. You're only supposed to have one soul. Death is something that you shouldn't try to escape from, you shouldn't go looking to be killed, but when your time's up, you should accept that. We haven't, we might not have known what we were doing, but I don't think death is going to accept that as an excuse. My mother might have been able to answer the question about whether or not we did indeed cheat death, but from what I know about the issue we're all going to be screwed.'

'Potter, listen to yourself. Death is not a person, it's not a god either. It's just the end of life, after you die your soul carries on, but really. I don't think we've cheated anything.'

'Evans, where does your soul come from? You had one, and only one, at birth. We're here, walking and talking, we can eat and think, so we have a good idea that we now possess a soul. But where did that soul that we now have come from? What has happened to our original souls? Those are important and fundamental questions that noone is asking or even thinking about right now. You don't know, neither do I, and I doubt that anyone here does. The ghosts might be able to answer that question, but I'm not sure they've got any real idea either.' James shook his head, 'Did you happen to speak to Dumbledore at all when you were in their office?'

'No, I just talked to Snape. He wanted to apologise for everything he ever said and did. He damned Peter for being our secret keeper and a Death Eater spy, damned you for trusting Peter and not fighting harder against You-Know-Who, damned Harry Potter for getting his portrait hung in the Headmistress' office. Then he begged me to forgive him, something about overhearing a prophecy and getting me killed. I wouldn't have called it a particularly productive conversation. The day before yesterday he was alive' Lily paused, looking a bit uncomfortable 'not a talking portrait, I couldn't handle talking to him like that. Never liked the idea of sentient portraits, isn't that a form of cheating death? No, I know it's not really living but they're not ghosts are they? I'll bite, where do souls come from?'

'No idea. None at all. Some say it's a real god that makes them and sticks them into babies, some muggles argue that there is no such thing as a soul. Ghosts are an imprint of a departed soul, dementors can suck the soul out of their victims, so we know that there is something that we call a soul. But as to where they come from and where they go, I've not got a clue. Never thought to ask, really. Stupid of me.'

Lily looked a bit exasperated, 'If you're fishing for a complement, cut bait. Because I've always thought you were an idiot.'

'Thank you, good to know that you still love me.' James didn't see the pillow until it hit him.

Dragging his fingers through his hair, James thanked Lily for the pillow, looked over at Sirius' unconscious form, and shouted 'Padfoot, GET UP!'

Padfoot did not respond. Lily again asked James to tell her what a spectre was.

'It's a damned ghost. Not a normal ghost though, they form when a life debt has formed between wizards, or witches, or a combination of the two. Do you know how a life debt forms? No, alright. A life debt is formed when you spare the life of an enemy, not someone you just dislike, but someone who's caused you an injury or tried to kill you. Dumbledore said that Snape owed me one of them, but he's not turned into a spectre, and I'm quite happy about that. Anyhow, to become a spectre that life debt must be called in when the debtor is trying to kill you. You have to remind the person who owes you the debt that they owe you their life. That will kill the debtor, worse than that is that the soul can't move on. It feels pain, unlike a normal ghost, it suffers horribly and can never leave the place where it died. It's a fate that is worse than death.'

Lily looked at James, surprised that he didn't wish death on her first magical friend. 'I thought you hated Snape?'

'Yes, I do. Or did, not sure anymore. Really. Why aren't you calling him 'sev' anymore, anyway?' Lily didn't answer, so James carried on 'I've heard too much yesterday and today, and don't quite know what I think anymore. There's no love lost between us, that's for sure. But Peter was a friend, he was supposed to be an ally. I know exactly why Auror Potter thinks that I'm going to kill him. The man is right to think that too. Except that I don't think I want him to die too quickly, and really can't think of a worse thing to do to him than to make him live a long life in the shadow of what his other self did.. To be honest, I'm still shocked that someone who claims to be my son has named his son after Snape.'

'WHAT DID YOU SAY!' Bellowed Sirius. 'What in the name of Merlin's big toe are you two talking about?'

'Morning Sirius, you're not going to believe what's happened.'

'James, I heard you say that your son named a kid after Snivellus, but you don't have a son and there's not a chance of your having a grandson. So, either you cut me in on whatever mind altering potion you're on, or if you're not baked, please explain what's going on.'

Before James could explain a thing, the infirmary doors crashed open. The three teens gaped as standing in the door was an elderly witch, shoulders stooped, her white hair in a bun, she was still recognisable as their Transfiguration professor even had she not been wearing tartan robes.

'Black, Potter and Miss Evans. I'm quite surprised to see you again on this side of the veil.' Minerva turned to the Nurse who had poked her head out of the office to hand off a calming potion for Sirius 'Drink up, Black. You're going to need it.'

After handing the goblet to Sirius, McGonagall pulled out two wands and handed one to Sirius Black, with her own she conjured a comfortable chair, and ottoman. Explaining that age does desire things that youth wouldn't accept. 'Mr. Black, very long story - made short. When you and your friends destroyed the Eye of Zeus it sent you forty years into the future. Your parents, brother and the original Sirius Black have passed onto their nest great adventure; you get a mulligan. I know that when you were a fifth year you learned to be an animagus, it's what helped you to escape Azkaban in 1993.'

'What?' Sirius choked out, 'Azkaban... Dead... Animagi... How...'

'Finish your calming draught, I dare say you'd need it. Your trunk is at the foot of the bed and you'll find some new clothes in there, get dressed while I draw your curtains. I'll answer some questions about your original lives, but I will also ask you to hold off on some of your curiosity and temper and let Mr Lupin wake so we don't have to you the whole story twice. Headmistress Sprout will be in to go over what's happened and what will happen with you if you don't mind waiting just another hour or two. In the meantime, Potter take out your own wand. It's time for your first official animagus lesson, I'd like the two of you to show me the first spell you cast to recognise your animagus forms. You can also explain to Miss Evans the risks and rewards of finding the animal within.'

'Professor McGonagall?' Began Lily, 'just before you came in James and I were having a bit of a discussion about what we are. Whether we're clones, or not. James was saying that we've cheated death, but I don't see how that could be right. Then he asked about what happened with the souls of our original lives. I'm as interested as the next witch about the animagus transfiguration, but perhaps you'd be able to help clear up the matter of exactly what we are.'

McGonagall smiled. 'Of course, that is a far more pressing concern for you than listening to us braggarts regale you with animal tales. The original Sirius mentioned that you never liked hearing about the how-to's of such a transformation in your first life either. As far as anyone knows you are indeed separate souls, your original souls have indeed moved onto the afterlife. When you pass on I should imagine you'll be able to meet yourselves. I can assure you that you did not pass on and then return, that is how you cheat death. You have not acted in such a manner.'

'But how do you know that we didn't come back from where we passed on to?' Asked James, 'It's not like anyone can prove that we didn't come back from the grave.' Looking at McGonagall's expression James stoped speaking then asked if he was again suffering from foot in mouth disease.

'Yes, you are. I did hear about your earlier indiscretion,' Turning to Sirius McGonagall smiled 'imagine telling the wizard who defeated Voldemort that he's never been chased by a Dark Lord. Speaking of that wizard, he did meet your departed spirits during his quest to destroy the wizard who once was Tom Riddle. Unlike yourselves, they were aware of what has happened since they died. In effect, as you did not die when using the Eye of Zeus, it was impossible for you to have cheated death.'

McGonagall smiled knowingly at James, 'Why the concern with cheating Death Mr. Potter, does it have anything to do with some old children's tale? One that mentioned an old cloak you used to use in order to sneak around Hogwarts?' James protested that he had no idea what she was talking about. 'Yes, you do. You're a descendent of Ignotus Peverell. You'll be interested to note that it was your son who united the Hallows for the first time since the three brothers parted after they met Death.'

James gasped, 'No. He shouldn't have done that, they're dangerous. The cloak is benign, but my mother always told me that the Wand and Stone cause too much harm for them to be used safely. Please tell me he didn't use them, lie to me if you have to.' James insisted.

'You're not serious are you?' Asked Sirius, 'The Hollows are a myth, it's a children's tale used to teach the young that their lives are finite. That you shouldn't go looking for ways to avoid dying, because you'll regret it if you succeed. Just ask my Great Grandfather, the fool made a horcrux and killed most of his own children because of it. Died from the remorse of killing his youngest son.'

'The Deathly Hallows are real, Sirius. Thank you for telling me how your brother knew what a horcrux was, we did wonder how he knew about them and why they must be destroyed. Harry only used the stone once, and did so not to meet the dead nor to bring them back to life, but because he thought they were coming to collect him for his voyage to the afterlife. The resurrection stone was used by Lord Voldemort as a horcrux, it too is now lost again and Harry isn't telling where he dropped that. I'll let him tell you how he avoided dying that particular time. He's only used the wand once as far as I know, and he intends to die peacefully without allowing anyone to win mastery of it from him. How he expects to do that in his current job is a mystery to me, but that is his goal. But even if someone does win the Wand's loyalty, they'll have quite the job of finding it. You wouldn't believe the number of rumours about its fate; some say that Harry hid the thing under a Fidelius Charm, others argue that he encased the wand in concrete and dumped it into the Atlantic Ocean, a few argue that he cast the wand into an erupting Mount Etna. Whatever he did with the thing Dumbledore's old wand is long gone.'

Lily mentioned that that was the second time in as many days that she'd heard the word 'horcrux' and asked what they were, she knew that she'd be able to look up a children's story, but the way the others were talking about Horcruxes made her uncomfortable. After finding out what a horcrux was she asked if she could have another dose of calming draught.

McGonagall continued 'More proof that you are new souls is the fact that the Remus Lupin who seems to still be enjoying his nap is no longer a werewolf. Don't look so shocked that I speak openly of this Black, I know it was a secret when he was a student, but he was outed as a werewolf in early 1994, when he died everyone knew about his condition. The curse of lycanthropy is not just a bite, it affects the very soul of the person who's bitten, that's why we have such a hard time in finding a way of curing the affliction. Not to mention one of the major reasons that so few werewolf children come to Hogwarts even today. I hope we'll have absolute proof of the status of your souls when Mr. Pettigrew wakes up. He should be coming around in an hour or so. His original spirit is still around, and it is still haunting Malfoy Manor as far as I'm aware. But you're not the first people to experience this form of magic, even though you may be the last. After all, we've not found any evidence that the Eye has made the journey through time as you have.'

McGonagall asked Nurse Perks to have the elves send some tea and lunch for the students. 'I do miss being able to order the elves to send food with a wave of my wand. But retirement has been good to me, Miss Evans if you'll excuse our rudeness we'll need to have a working lunch.' Handing out animagus registration forms to Black and Potter with a rather severe smile 'It would seem that you boys forgot to do all of your homework when you became animagi. We're going to correct that particular oversight before Harry has to arrest you for breaking the law.'

'Professor, where did you get this wand?' Asked Sirius 'It looks like my old one, but it's not working. It's wrong, feels like it belongs to someone else.'

'Interesting, Auror Potter recovered it after the fall of Voldemort, it was in a storage vault that had the evidence from when your original self tried to kill Peter Pettigrew. I'd have to say this is more proof that you are not the original Sirius Black. Hopefully you'll be a bit less rash than he was. Do try and avoid laughing at your opponents during a duel, that and a lack of attention got both you and your cousin Bellatrix killed.' McGonagall said regretfully.

'I tried to kill Peter?' Asked Sirius incredulously, 'Why the hell would I bother to try and kill Peter? For that matter, if I'm not Sirius Black then who am I?

'Long story, and you are the clone of Sirius Black. Of that there is no doubt in my mind, if you doubt who you are, you'll have to speak with the Nurse. She should be able to help you with that. Now, Mr. Black, the short version is that the original Peter Pettigrew joined Voldemort's Death Eaters in 1980, he betrayed James and Lily Potter to their deaths at the hand of Voldemort and then framed you for that crime. Your original cornered his original, but you were too arrogant, too certain that you would win. He publicly blamed you for betraying James and Lily, then killed a dozen muggles after cutting off his finger. He went rat, and lived in hiding until your original escaped Azkaban in 1993.'

'Fuck.' Sirius stated baldly, 'I escaped Azkaban? How the hell did I manage that?'

McGonagall waved her wand, forming a rolled up newspaper to whack Sirius on his nose. 'Bad dog, watch your language.'

'Careful Padfoot, you should know that most cats don't like dogs.' James laughed at his friend's misfortune. Only to watch as the newspaper hit him as well.

'Cats who properly register their forms don't appreciate comments from prancing Bambi's either, Potter. Anyhow, it was a thin dog which escaped Azkaban, because he knew he was innocent of the crimes for which he was imprisoned. You didn't get a trial, no one would have believed that you hadn't committed the crime as you were laughing maniacally when you were arrested. Your original had one of the most inappropriate senses of humour.' McGonagall said dryly.

'Professor, if the five of us are all new souls. Then what's to become of Peter, the Peter who came with us I mean.' Asked James 'I don't like what the other Peter did, but who he grew to be isn't the Peter that we know. He's always been a good friend, he was the one who pointed out that animagi could be around werewolves back in our second year. The three of us banded together to help Remus with his furry little problem, and it doesn't feel right just to abandon him. Especially if Auror Potter is right and he did save our lives by suggesting that we destroy the Eye.'

'I admire you for trying to defend the underdog, Potter, but we need to be sure that the young Pettigrew is in fact a young Pettigrew. The last thing we want to see is the merger of a spectre with a living counterpart. If that were to happen, then your friend would become a very dangerous murderer. Moreover, you are underestimating the degree to which the name of Peter Pettigrew has been damned in recent years. Not one wizard child has been named Peter since the beginning of the Second Voldemort War, muggleborn wizards who are named Peter are advised to change their names before they are sorted. People who had grown up with the name have changed their first names in an effort to avoid the sneers that hearing the name provokes. Distant and close cousins of the Pettigrew family have repudiated their relationship with him and his legacy. The hatred and darkness which was inspired and exploited by Tom Riddle did not die with him.' McGonagall sighed, 'We are speculating at this point, Remus should be up within the next three hours, by then Auror Potter will have spoken to him and determined his status. For now, let's focus on your animagus forms and get you properly registered. Miss Evans, you may find interesting a history of the wizarding world text in your trunk sufficient to distract yourself from our hobby.'

While waiting for Remus to wake up, and not being terribly interested in becoming an animagus herself, Lily started to read up on the history of the magical world after the fall of Voldemort. Interestingly enough she found that she couldn't open the chapters that dealt with the end of the first War and the final battle of the second. McGonagall informed her that the story in the book was the 'official' version, and didn't include information that the clones would be most interested in. James and Sirius were quite happy to find that their animagus forms had not changed due to their cloned status.

Just before Remus was expected to awaken their old Herbology instructor arrived. Headmistress Sprout had aged gracefully, her robes no longer had patches of garden soil on them. She accepted a goblet of calming potion from Nurse Perks with a smile, before Nurse Perks left with another goblet, presumably to help deal with the awakening of Peter Pettigrew.

Remus Lupin did not waken as calmly as did the other clones. With a short cry of surprise Remus started to twist his right arm attempting to see for himself why a painful bite which he had long grown used to was now noticeable by its absence. He noticed a very old McGonagall while looking for Madam Pomphrey, but it was the sight of a ghostly Prongs that pushed him over the edge.

When the ghostly patronus asked for Nurse Perks, Remus fainted.


End file.
